We are off to a great start of the school year! The first graders have been very busy learning the expectations of our classroom, and they are doing a great job. We are working hard at making sure we use kind words to each other, and stay on task.

Math: We took our unit 1 test last Thursday, and everyone did a wonderful job on it. We worked on partners of 1-10. We talked about what a partner and total was. We learned how to flip partners. We also discussed the various ways we could show partners (stair steps, fingers, drawings with break apart sticks, math mountains, and equations).

Science: We have been talking about the sun. The sun gives us heat and light, which makes the earth warm and allows plants to grow, which in turn allows people to live on Earth. The students learned that the sun is a star, but it is not the brightest or biggest star. We talked about how much bigger the sun is compared to Earth. We also learned what a constellation was, and even made our own.

Religion: We have been talking about God's creations, and how we can take care of those creations. God's greatest gift was people. God created people so that we can learn to know and love him.

Reading:​ We are now in full swing of reading groups, and daily 5. We have spent the last couple of weeks learning and practicing: read to self, work on writing, read to someone, word work, and listen to reading. This week we were able to incorporate all 5 into our reading rotations. The first graders are doing a good job of working independently during these centers. Please be sure to read with your child at least 20 minutes every night.

Writing: We just finished our first unit, my pictures make a story. We were really focusing on writing at least 1 sentence that matches our picture. As we move on throughout the year your student will be able to write complete stories with 5 or more sentences. I made a class book so each family could see the hard work their child did when they edited their writing piece. It will be sent from child to child to take home for a couple of days.